The Bad Ass Brigade (62 page)
~~~
Hours later, Gabe lay beside her, watching her sleep. Her hair was tousled, her cheeks flushed. Her lips were red, swollen and moist. He drank in the heady odors of their combined musk. He marveled at their lovemaking. In all his sexual exploits he had never been with a more responsive woman. Her passion stunned him. With a start, he realized that this was the longest he had lain with a woman following sex. But then he reminded himself that he and Ana had not had sex, they had made love, something he had never done.
He allowed himself to think about their ride back from Dominic’s country home. How Ana cried in relief that Kai was alive, and in anguish that Davy was dead. She was shocked at her aunt’s grievous role in the tragedy. Stunned at Penelope’s relationship with Peter, a man who was as twisted as she was, but at an even more elemental level. Gabe remembered how brave she was, how dignified, standing on that hideous stage. And perhaps most surprising, that she never flinched at his knife in Pat’s throat or the flames that gobbled up the evil men inside.
Gabe took a drag off of his cigarette and glanced down to see Ana looking up at him.
She snuggled in next to him, smothering his chest with kisses.
“Gabe?”
He snuffed out his cigarette and tipped her chin up, to look into her eyes.
“Yes, Ana.”
“I never knew it would be like this.”
He grinned. “Neither did I.”
They lay together, neither of them spoke, but he couldn’t stop stroking and petting her.
After a moment Ana turned over and sat up beside him. The sheet dipped, exposing one full breast and its soft pink nipple. Seeing her frown, Gabe dragged his eyes away from her luscious breasts and concentrated on her face. He tried to stifle the hard-on that rose up at the sight of her pale flesh. He smiled to himself knowing that it was hopeless. He would be aroused for the rest of his life whenever Ana was near.
He chuckled. “That’s a mighty serious look, Princess.”
Ana shrugged as if what she was thinking was a small issue but the serious look in her eyes belied her seeming indifference.
“Um… I was… wondering—” She stopped.
Gabe sat up and pulled her next to him.
“What is it, Princess? I don’t like that troubled look in your eyes.”
Ana took a deep breath. “It’s… it’s probably nothing.” She stopped then continued in a rush.
“Um… Maude said that that you did things with her that I never knew existed.”
Gabe nodded. “Yeah, honey, that is true.” At her pained expression, he added, “And, baby, a lot of them are things you never will do.”
When she frowned and pulled back, he added, “For example, I am the only man who will ever be in your bed.”
She straightened her shoulders and pinned him with a fierce glare.
“And you, Gabe, will I be the only woman in your bed?”
“That goes without saying, Princess. But you’re not the only one, Ana, who has a lot of learning to do. I’m in uncharted waters too. I plan to spend a lifetime learning to do something I have never done before.”
“What is that?”
“To make love to a woman I love, with all my heart.”
Ana’s eye widened in surprised, then she flushed with pleasure.
“Gabe?”
“Yeah. Princess?”
To his surprise, Ana crawled up on top of him and straddled him. Looking down at him, a wicked grin tugged at the corner of her mouth.
“It seems like we both have a lot to learn. Um… Can we get started now?”
His laugh was a joyful sound in her ears, and in her heart.
Epilogue
Gabe refused to sleep with Ana in her father’s house until they were married. Given that he could not bear to be without her, there was only one solution. By the time they arrived at Chao’s villa, the justice of the peace had been summoned. The only person who was not surprised was Chao. He met them at the door, his eyes dancing with glee. Gabe shook his head with a mock scowl.
“If this hadn’t been such a hell of an ordeal, Chao, I might think you’d engineered the whole damn thing, just to get me to take your haughty daughter off your hands.”
When Ana poked him in the ribs with a toss of her head, Gabe continued, “We both know what a handful she is.”
`Chao’s eyes danced. “Now, Gabriel, if you will remember, I gave you fair warning. I told you that Ana rules the people who love her with an iron hand.”
“So you did, Chao. And you’ve done a remarkable job of surviving her tempestuous ways. One small thing: From the first time I met her, which some day we will tell you about, I decided a little discipline would go a long way with this young woman. I’m more convinced than ever, that that is true.”
He flexed his fingers and twisted around to ogle her ass with a wicked grin. Everyone laughed, including Ana.
Ana tipped up her chin. “Humph. We’ll see about that.”
Gabe chuckled and pulled her close to him. “Yeah, Princess, we sure as hell will.”
~~~
That evening, the small group stood in front of the fireplace in Chao’s private quarters, and listened to Gabe and Ana exchange their marriage vows.
Gunnar and Eagle, the only family any of the three of them had, stood beside Gabe. Kai was weak, but able to stand for short periods of time. He and Chao were next to Ana. The brief ceremony took place beneath the portrait of Ana and Kai’s mother. Gabe saw Chao look at the portrait with a mix of sadness and joy in his eyes. Ana leaned over and kissed him.
“Mama would be happy, Father. She would fall for Gabe as hard as I have.”
Chao gave her a watery smile.
“I know that, Ana, and Gabe is right. I admit to doing a little engineering to bring you two together. But I talked it over with you mother. I’m sure we have her approval.”
From the distance of the years, Gabe felt her love and her blessing.
~~~
When Ana went to her room to change, Gabe, Gunnar and Eagle stayed behind to update Chao and Kai. The father and son listened, horrified, as Gabe described the scene at the country house. Gabe didn’t spare them any details. Chao’s face was gray with anger and Kai looked like a walking storm cloud.
After several minutes of silence, Chao said, “I only wish I had been the one to strike the match.”
Gabe nodded. “I think your daughter,” he added with a soft smile, “and my wife, would have fought you for the privilege, Chao.”
At that moment, Jing came to the door. She bowed low to Gabe and handed him a note. Gabe thanked her and smiled at the twinkle in her eyes.
He frowned when he opened the note, then grinned at the other men. He strode to the door and said over his shoulder, “I guess this is what happens when you marry, right, Chao? When you are summoned, you go.”
Gabe ran his hands through his hair and mumbled under his breath, “Even if she asks you to meet her in the barn.”
~~~
Gabe crossed the courtyard and headed to the barn. It was a beautiful night. He thought that Ana might want to ride to the canyons to celebrate their marriage. The door to the barn was closed. All the horses were in the stables and the barn was quiet when he entered.
He saw a low light across from the empty stall at the back and called out for Ana.
She answered from the shadows. “Lock the door, please, Gabe.”
He did so, then with a puzzled frown walked to where he heard her voice. He turned the corner and to his surprise, he saw Ana sitting at a table. She was dressed in her stable boy clothes; except that the top three buttons of her shirt were unbuttoned, revealing a tempting glimpse of pale lustrous skin. Her gleaming hair hung down her back and her black cowboy hat was perched at a jaunty angle. Her eyes were dancing. In the center of the table was a deck of cards and a pile of poker chips. Off to the side was a bottle of whisky and two glasses.
She gave him a mischievous smile, then lifted her ornate cigarette holder to her lips and took a deep drag. She blew the smoke up in the air and said in a husky voice, “Pull up a chair, cowboy. Unless the infamous Ace Angel is afraid he’s going to get beat.”
Gabe stared in astonishment at the sight but within seconds his errant prick jerked to attention. He suppressed a chuckle and sauntered over to the table hitching up his trousers to make room for his throbbing arousal.
“Before I accept your invitation, Ma’am, may I ask why we are in this unusual location?” He winked at her and added, “I’ve done a lot of things in a barn, but never played poker.”
Ana tossed her head. “It’s like this, Angel. I have a mixed memory of this barn. Some good, some bad. I want to erase the bad part and replace it with, shall we say, a different memory.”
She motioned to the chair across from her.
“How about it, Ace?” she said with an audacious grin at the bulge in his trousers. “Are you up for a game with a real woman, one who knows all your tells?”
Gabe met her gaze and sunk into the chair. He reached over and took one of her cigarettes and lit it. Leaning back in his chair, he blew the smoke up in the air and grinned at her. His voice was a low sexy growl. “Just so you know, Ma’am, I never play unless I know the stakes.”
Taking a drag off her cigarette, Ana reached down by her chair and picked up a coil of rope. She smacked it down on the table.
With a saucy tilt of her chin, she said. “This is what we are playing for, Angel. If you win, you get to decide what to do with this rope. If I win, I get to decide.”
A wicked grin tugged at the corner of his mouth. Gabe’s low chuckle rumbled through the shadows. He nodded to her, his eyes gleaming with lust.
“Shuffle up and deal, Princess. Game on.”
# # #
Afterword
Thank you for reading
The
Bad Ass Brigade.
This Sampler is chock full of characters I love. Hope you do too
. Fire and Ice (
Playing with Fire
) Nights In White Satin (
Big Girls Don’t Cry
) and The D.C. Incident (
The Moscow Affair
)
are part of my THREE full length Contemporary Sizzling Romantic Suspense series.
The theme of
The Reckoning
appears throughout my 4 Volume HOT Historical Suspense
The Grandmaster’s Legacy.
I hope this short story captures your heart and your outrage. The story is as pertinent today as it was in the late 1890’s.
The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face
is a departure from my usual HOT romance—It is a short sweet tribute to Valentine’s Day.
And then there is
Aces Wild
Gabe (Angel) and Ana plus Eagle and Gunnar are the beginning of a series I will finish someday soon. My reader fans all beg me to write more books about these great guys. I agree. They are super HOT!
If you enjoyed
The Bad Ass Brigade,
do me
a huge favor
. Go back to
www.Amazon.com
, and please leave an honest review. Indie Authors live and die by their reviews. The few extra seconds it takes really helps us authors out. Thank you!
Other Works by Taylor Lee
Big Girls Don’t Cry
If you enjoyed
The Bad Ass Brigade
, be sure to check out Taylor Lee’s Best Selling Hot New Release in Romantic Suspense:
Big Girls Don’t Cry
Praise for
Big Girls Don’t Cry
…
“Sizzling Romantic Suspense at its best! As the danger rages, their passions flare!”
~KDR
“Taking down an international drug ring? Solving a vicious murder? All in a day’s work for the sexy special agent. Taming an irresistible woman as tough as she is beautiful? Now that’s another story!”
~ L. Takamia
“She’s an accomplished martial artist as fierce as she is beautiful. He sees the wounded woman beneath her tough exterior and is determined to protect her no matter how hard she resists.”
~ J. John
~~~
In the Still of the Night
Praise for
In the Still of the Night
…
“Dynamite sequel to the Bestselling Sizzling Romantic Suspense
Big Girls Don’t Cry
. WOW ! Didn’t know how anything could be as good as
Big Girls Don’t Cry
but Lexie and Jake up the ante in this super-HOT sequel. Romantic Suspense at its best!”